Sliding door framing



Aug. 21, 1951 A. J. FORGETTE ET AL SLIDING DOOR FRAMING Filed Nov. 22,` 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l Allg' 21, 1951 A. J. FORGETTE ET AL 2,564,958

SLIDING DOOR FRAMING Filed Nov. 22, 1948 v. 2 sheets-sheet 2 5f I Mea-LL R. .92E/vas, A/vo HTTOR/YEX Patented Aug. 21, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SLIDING DOR- FRAMING Alexander J. Forgette, Beverly Hills, MurrellgR.. Spence, Alhambra, and Noah 0. A. Hayman, i North Hollywood, Calif.

6 Claims.

This invention relates to sliding doors and has particular reference to improvements in the framing for such doors.

The walls of dwelling houses, as generally constructed, are supported by studs which measure two inches by four inches in cross section and all door and window framing is usually designed to correspond to the four inches in width of such studs to the ends that the finished walls may present a continuous, even surface. Doors of dwelling houses are ordinarily supported on hinges within the door opening. The disadvantage of such hinged doors is that they require a great deal of floor space which otherwise ,could be used to better advantage, and it is for thisreason often found more desirable to mount a sliding door within the wall to the end that every inch of floor space may be made available for use. Sliding doors would, perhaps, be more generally used were it not for the fact that the framing of such doors become so bulky that it is necessary either to build a much thicker wall or else to project the portion of the wall within which the door framing is mounted a distance into the room, a condition which is so objectionable that sliding doors rarely are used unless for some reason absolutely necessary.

It is, in view of the foregoing, the general object of the present invention, to provide a sliding door framing which is constructed so lightly that it will fit within the four inch space occupied by the studs of the wall. It is a further object to provide a door framing which may be made in the form of a complete unit so sturdy that it does not in any way weaken the wall but rather tends to increase the strength thereof. Another object is to provide improved means for locating and supporting the unit on the subfloor of the building wherein it is installed. A still further object is to provide in combination with this door frame unit, improved means for guiding the bottom edge of the sliding door installed within the unit.

These and other objects of the invention and the many advantageous features thereof will be better understood upon perusal of the following detailed description and by referring to the accompanying drawings in which a preferred form of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is `a, side elevational View of a sliding door frame unit constructed according to the principles of the invention and showing the manner in which it is held supported on a subfloor of a building;

Fig. 2 is a plan view on a larger scale of a portion of the frame unit illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a substantially corresponding and elevational view of the unit; and

Fig. 4 shows a modification of some of the elements illustrated in Fig. 3.

As indicated in Fig. 1, the numeral 2 denotes the door opening which extends from the suboor 3 to a header 4, such as ordinarily employed to support the wheel trucks of a sliding door. The door jamb is composed of side members 5 and 6 between which an opening is provided of sufficient width for the door I freely to operate therein and it is important to note that these jambs `are made so light that the overall distance across both jambs equals the four inch width of the wall studding. The jamb members 5, 6 are, at the top thereof, shaped to straddle the header 4 and they are fastened thereto in any suitable manner as by means of screws or nails l. A plate 8 extends across the bottom surfaces of the two members and it s fastened thereto by means of screws or nails 9. As best shown in Fig. 3, the center portion I0 of this plate is bent upward to form a rectangular saddle against the sides of which the jamb members come to rest when the plate is fastened in position on the sub-floor and it will maintain the members in correctly spaced relation to each other.

It is furthermore important to note that the plate extends beyond the jamb members at both sides of the door and that in each extended portion thereof is provided one or more perforations l l through which screws or nails I2 are extended to fasten the plate in position on the floor. It is common practice, in mounting sliding door jamb members on the floor, to drive nails diagonally through the bottom portion of the members into the floor during which operation it is not possible correctly to position the members thereon for the reason that the hammer blows against the nails tend to push them together. In the device of the invention, on the other hand, the members are held correctly spaced on the plate I0 and the plate may be correctly positioned on the floor without any danger of dislodging the members thereon during the mounting thereof.

On the edge of each member away from the door opening, is mounted a channel l5 extending placed endwise into the channels and fastened in position therein. These spreaders extend to a vertically placed brace i8 against which the door comes to stop when in fully opened position. For the purpose of securing the spreaders in position within the channels l5, I have found it convenient to form into the outer surfaces of these channels triangular lips le which, after the spree-ders have been inserted, are forced into the side surfaces thereof, substantially yas indicated in Fig. 2. This is conveniently done by means of a hammer and an ordinary nail set. A very simple and eicient fastening 'means is in this manner, provided.

In order quickly and correctly to seat the channels against the jamb members and also so as to provide a stronger, much more rigid structure, I have at i3 shown the jamb members vertically grooved to receive therein substantially semicircular ridges ELS projecting from the rear surfaces of the channels. These ridges are conveniently produced by grooving the channels as indicated in the drawings. When the perforations through which the fastening screws l extend are placed in the center of this groove, the insertion of the fastening screws is greatly facilitated and it is found that the heads thereof do not project beyond the inner surface of the channels.

One difficulty often occurring in the use of sliding doors is that the framing, due to the manner in which studs are ,nailed in position on the flooring, is unevenly spaced and that, for this reason, it is found that the door may bind in some places and so cannot operate as freely as it is intended to. Also it may be found that the lumber used in making the framing may warp in places to create friction against the door. This difficulty is, in the present device, overcome by spacing the jamb members far enough apart to prevent such occurrence and by providing a guide for the bottom edge of the door, which will maintain it in central position within the framing. Such guide is, in Fig. 3, shown to consist of a bracket 2i] including a base 2l which is recessed at the bottom thereof to provide vertical flanges 22 which are properly spaced apart to enter slots 23 of the bottom plate. When these flanges are correctly proportioned and spaced apart the bracket may be forced into the slots of the bottom plate and will be held firmly in position thereon. The upper ends of the `bracket are shown outwardly flaring so as to provide a cradle in which the bottom edge of the door is shown ttingly mounted. The important feature of this method of guiding the door is that the upper ends of the bracket 2l) are somewhat resilient so that they will give slightly when pressure is applied to the side of the door in the operation thereof and still will maintain the door properly guided within the framing.

Sliding doors will vary in thickness and are for residential purposes generally made in two thicknesses, namely one and three-eighth inch and one and three-fourth inch. A suitable bracket should be provided for each particular size of door. As indicated in Fig. 4, a bracket 25 is shaped to seat in the bottom plate in the manner above described and the upper portion thereof is of a size to receive and to guide a heavier door 26 while still shaped to seat in the slots 23 of the plate 8.

While we have in the foregoing described a preferred form of the invention, it is not the intention thereby to be limited to the exact proportions and arrangements shown and described but right is reserved to embody such modifications as will fall within the limits of the claims hereto appended. We wish it understood also that, while the door framing may conveniently be assembled and installed as a prefabricated unit, it may be supplied only partly assembled. Or the making of the wooden parts thereof and the assembling of the parts may be left in the hands of the contractor or artisan constructing the walls of the building.

We claim:

1. The combination with a floor, of a sliding door frame comprising, a header, a pair of vertically disposed members fastened at the top thereof to said header to form a door jamb at one side of the door opening, said members having a passage therebetween for the door, a plate mountable on the floor, the center portion of this plate being bent upward to form a rectangular saddle against the sides of which the jamb members come to rest to maintain the members correctly spaced apart, a guide on said plate for the bottom of the door means fastening the bottoms of the members to the plate, and means fastening the plate to the floor.

2. The combination with a iioor and door jambs having vertically directed grooves in the surfaces thereof facing away from the door opening, of a door framing comprising channeled beams mounted on said jambs, said beams having each a centrally positioned ridge projecting therefrom and lodging in the grooves of the jambs, a plate mountable on the Jdoor, the center portion of this plate being bent upward to form a rectangular saddle against the sides of which the jambe and the said channeled beams come to rest to maintain the lower portion of the framing in correctly spaced. position on the floor, a guide on said plate for the bottom of the door means for fastening the jambs to the plate, and means for fastening the plate to the fioor.

3. The combination with a floor and door jambs having vertically directed grooves in the surfaces thereof facing away from the door opening and a back step, of a door framing comprising channeled beams mounted on said jainbs, said beams having each a centrally positioned ridge projecting therefrom and lodging in the grooves of the jambs, spreaders seated in and extending from the beams to said back stop, the beams having elements engaging the spreaders to lock them in position therein, a plate mountable on the floor, the center portion of this plate being bent upward to form a rectangular saddle against the sides of which the jambs and the said channeled beams come to rest to maintain the lower portions of the framing in correctly spaced posi-- tion on the floor, a guide on said plate for the bottom of the door means for fastening the jambs to the plate, and means for fastening the plate to the door.

4. The combination with a oor and door jambs having vertically directed grooves in the surfaces thereof facing away from the door opening and a back stop, of a door framing comprising channeled beams mounted on said jambs, said beams having each a centrally positioned ridge projecting therefrom and lodging in the grooves of the jambs, spreaders seated in and extending from the beams to said back stop, the beams having lips extruded therefrom, said lips engaging the spreaders to lock them in position therein, a plate mountable on the floor, the center portion of this plate being bent upward to form a rectangular saddle against the sides of which the jambs and the said channeled beams come to rest to maintain the lower portion of the framing in correctly spaced position on the floor, a guide on said plate for the bottom of the door means for fastening the jambs to the plate, and means for fastening the plate to the floor.

5. The combination with a licor, of a sliding door frame comprising, a header, a pair of vertically disposed members fastened at the top thereof to said header to form a door jamb at one side of the door opening, said members having a passage therebetween for the door, a plate mountable on the iioor, the center portion of this plate being bent upward to form a rectangular saddle against the sides of which the j amb members come to rest to maintain the members correctly spaced apart, a channeled guide detachably mounted on the saddle of the plate freely to guide the bottom of the door, means fastening the bottoms of the members to the plate, and means fastening the plate to the oor.

6. The combination with a floor, of a sliding door frame comprising, a header, a pair of vertically disposed members fastened at the top thereof to said header to form a door jamb at one side of the door opening, said members having a passage therebetween for the door, a plate mountable on the floor, the center portion of this plate being bent upward to form a rectangular saddle against the sides of which the jamb members come to rest to maintain the members correctly spaced apart, there being transverse slots in the tcp surface of said saddle, a strip of material seated in said slots with its ends upwardly directed to form a guide for the bottom of the door, mean fastening the' bottoms of the members to the plate, and means fastening the plate to the oor.

ALEXANDER J. FORGETTE. MURRELL R. SPENCE. NOAH O. A. HAYMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following refere lees are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 643,307 Schmitt Feb. 13, 1900 1,831,031 Pitcher Nov. 10, 1931 2,378,666 Triller June 19, 1945 

